Eva's Kitchen - Eva Longoria Parker [15]
2. Divide the spinach among 4 shallow bowls or salad plates. Top with the beet slices and sprinkle over the crumbled goat cheese. Serve.
COOKING BEETS To prepare the beets, trim all but about 1 inch of the stems. Rinse thoroughly under cold, running water.
To boil beets, bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Add the beets and return the water to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the beets are tender when pierced with a thin, sharp knife, about 20 minutes for small beets, about 30 minutes for medium beets, and 45 minutes to 1 hour for large beets. Drain the beets and transfer them to a bowl of ice water until cool enough to handle.
To bake beets, preheat the oven to 400°F. Place the beets in a small roasting pan and add ½ cup of water. Seal the pan tightly with foil and bake until the beets are tender when pierced with a thin, sharp knife, about 45 minutes for small beets, about 1 hour for medium beets, and about 1¼ hours for large beets (be careful when lifting the foil; don’t get burned by the escaping hot steam). Remove the beets from the pan and let stand. When the beets are cool enough to handle, use a paring knife to trim the ends and slip off their skins. Serve warm, at room temperature, or cold.
FROM AUNT ELSA’S KITCHEN Beets retain better flavor when they are boiled or baked with their skins on, but peeling them after cooking can transfer all that beautiful color right to your hands, where it doesn’t look so nice. Wear kitchen gloves when peeling and chopping beets.
rotini pasta salad
Full of colorful, crunchy vegetables and bursting with flavor, this looks really pretty on a buffet table. By the time I was in middle school, I knew that rotini and vegetables in the kitchen was the sign that we were headed to a potluck soon. This was and is my mom’s go-to recipe for PTA meetings, school plays, recitals, and baby and bridal showers.
MAKES 6 SERVINGS
1 pound dried rotini or farfalle
1 to 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (optional)
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes
½ large red onion, thinly sliced
1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and coarsely chopped
1 4-ounce can sliced mushrooms, well drained
2 teaspoons dry salad seasoning
½ cup Balsamic Vinaigrette or bottled Italian salad dressing
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese, or to taste
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Stir in the pasta and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes or according to the package directions. Drain the pasta and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking. Drain very well and transfer to a large mixing bowl. If the pasta will need to sit on its own for a little while, add 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil, if desired, to prevent sticking, and toss to coat.
2. Place the pasta in a large bowl. Add the tomatoes, red onion, bell pepper, mushrooms, salad seasoning, and dressing.
3. Toss gently until well mixed and coated with dressing. Sprinkle over the Parmesan cheese and serve.
hearts of palm salad
Café Med in Los Angeles serves a salad like this over paper-thin beef carpaccio that I love to order because it’s so light and fresh. When I make it at home, I skip the beef but pile on the greens.
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
1 10-ounce bag fresh arugula
¼ cup Lemon Garlic Dressing
Kosher salt and ground black pepper
1 14-ounce can artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
1 14-ounce can hearts of palm, drained and sliced
Shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1. Place the arugula in a large serving bowl. Pour over the dressing and toss gently to coat. Add salt and pepper to taste.
2. Scatter the artichoke hearts and hearts of palm on top. Use a vegetable peeler to shave the Parmigiano-Reggiano on top. Serve.
PAPER OR PLASTIC? When the checkout person at the supermarket asks, in regard to your bag choice, “Paper or plastic?” the best answer is, “Neither, thanks!” Paper is not much better than plastic. Even though paper bags are easy to recycle in many areas, it actually takes enormous resources to manufacture them. Please invest in a few reusable shopping